Shaking Skeletons
by orange-tide
Summary: Summer Roberts is hiding something big. She doesn't want anyone to know, but when it finally comes back to haunt her, who'll be the one to save her? New chapter up, The Morning After.
1. Prologue

**I know I shouldn't be starting a new story, but I've written a lot in this, and figured I'd put it here. Mockingbirds will be updated, as will Scarred Youth. I haven't forgotten. Anyways, review!**

Prologue:

Summer Roberts is hiding more things than you know. On the outside, she seems like the perfect girl. Perfect smile, perfect hair, perfect everything. She's living the all-American dream. Except her dream is a nightmare.

No one saw the other part of her life. No one saw her take the pills, or go to the doctors. You never noticed it.

When she was little, it was bad. She'd lose contact with everything and everyone. As soon as it came on, it would go away. So she would dismiss it. Until it really hit.

Three medications kept her sane. She learned to swallow all three pills without water by seven. That was the year her whole world fell apart. She stopped cooperating, and then it almost killed her.

Her attempts still didn't keep her family together.

Through the years she concealed it. It practically went away. Every once in a while, it would come back, but barely. They warned her she'd come into it severely once her body became immune to the medication.

She never believed it.

As life went on, she built up walls around her, and rarely let people in. Not even her best friend or boyfriend(or ex-boyfriend, depended on the date) knew about this.

She understood that one day it might come out, but she hoped not soon.

Everyone around Summer Roberts has skeletons in her closet, but at least none of them shake.

**That was just the prologue. What do you guys think? Should I keep going? Please review, I really appreciate them!**


	2. The Closet's Open

**Wow, thanks for the reviews you guys. DSmooth321, this is the story, but I changed it around. Now it is in line with the season finale of the O.C. And I completely agree with you on the coupling, don't worry, I am way ahead of you...haha...**

The peak of the summer was hitting. The "Fantastic Four" were again separated. Things ended about two months ago, when they attended the second funeral in a week.

Summer Roberts had to be the one to console Ryan Atwood, for Marissa Cooper was going to court. Just barely had she gotten off, and Ryan and Marissa hadn't talked much since.

She prepared to visit the Cohens', who were all a mess. They were completely torn into pieces. She breezed by the numerous near empty pill bottles. Her father was away, and the step-monster was...well, the step-monster.

Summer Roberts hoped into her car, and drove to the Cohens. She had been going to their house practically every other day. Even though Seth and her were through, she was still friends with him.

She knocked on the front door, but no one came. She walked around the house, and still no one.

"Summer," she heard her name and turned around. Ryan stood at the pool house door. She walked over to the door. Her head was filled with random thoughts as she stepped into the familiar area, with her friend.

"Where is everyone?" Summer asked Ryan and closed the door.

"Sand and Seth went to visit Kirsten," Ryan finished cleaning up.

"Why didn't you go?" as Summer watched Ryan, she couldn't see how everyone in his life just gave up on him.

"Bad memories," though Ryan would never show it, Kirsten's battle with alcoholism left him alone and back to where he was almost two years ago. No matter where he went, or how far he ran away from his past, it still came back to him. He was destroying family after family.

"Oh," Summer didn't say a word after that. She suddenly felt so strange, groggy-like.

Then it hit her. She began to breathe heavily and back away from the stranger. She was in this place she'd never been before. This person neared her, and she wanted to run.

"Summer?" how did he know her name? She had never seen this person in her life. Was he a stalker? Had someone kidnaped her? Or was it... "Summer!"

The man grabbed her to stop shaking with fear. Her skeletons had come back.

"Get off of me!" she screamed and threw him off with all her might. He tumbled back, a ghost. She fell into the corner, barely able to stand up. She was so tired. And stuck in a strange place, with some psycho.

And then everything returned. The pool house was there, Ryan was Ryan, not some sicko, and she was back in Newport.

Ryan had never seen Summer act like that before. She was now in the corner, trying to find her bearings.

He was so confused. What had just happened?

"What happened?" obviously neither knew.

"You kinda freaked, and got really disoriented," he explained to the fragile girl. She looked about seven in the corner.

"Oh," Summer muttered and began to get up. "I forgot my medication," she said to herself and turned around.

"Medication?" Ryan heard and was even more confused.

"To pick up," Summer answered after turning back around. Ryan didn't believe her. "For my step-mom." Still no belief. "Please don't anyone," she begged before running off.

**So, you know the drill: Review because they're so fun to read...haha.**


	3. Falling Apart

**So, I'm posting this chapter now, but that is all you get until, um, Saturday. Sorry... and** **Jann Lamode Neumann, there you go. Thank you so much guys for the awesome reviews**

Summer raced home. It couldn't be coming back. She wouldn't let it. Her life was going good. She would not let it destroy it. It was just because she forgot her mediation. It was so habitual that she didn't even know she was doing it.

But she had forgotten her medication before. And it had never acted up like that. She could feel it coming. This time barely had any warning.

She parked and jumped out, running as fast as she could. She was not going to let it happen again.

Summer rushed off to the kitchen and found her bottle empty. Of course it would be empty. That was just her luck.

"Do we have any Dilantin?" Summer screamed out to her step-mother. She wasn't good at much, but she knew her medication.

"I don't take Dilantin, Summer," Emilia Roberts appeared at the doorway.

"I know, I take it!" Summer was so freaked out by her episode.

"There's none? Usually I call them all in at least a week ahead," Emilia never ran out of pills.

"Because there's no more refills," Summer grew more worried.

"Well, talk to the doctor," Emilia answered. Her and Summer were never close, but Emilia understood the possible severity of Summer's condition.

"It takes forever. Plus, he's with Dad," Summer replied. Neil often took trips with friends. He usually left Summer and Emilia to their own devices.

"Summer, you've missed days. You'll be fine. Nothing will happen," this was one of the rare moments that Summer and Emilia got along.

"But something already did," Summer felt so hopeless, and confused. Why had it come back?

"What do you mean?" Emilia asked.

"I just had an episode," Summer said. It had been over a year since her last episode. She had had one a few days before her first interaction with Chrismukkah.

"How bad?" Emilia had see some of Summer's really bad episodes. It was scary to see a ten year old like that. It just wasn't right.

"Not bad. But still, I haven't had one in a while. It's just because I didn't take my meds," Summer wanted to blame it on that, but it didn't feel like that.

"Well, go to the pharmacy and you can probably get the pharmacist to give you enough Dilantin til the doctor returns," Emilia explained.

"Good. Thanks," Summer calmed a bit and began to head to the car to go to the pharmacy.

"Summer, wait," Emilia stopped her step-daughter and Summer turned around. "I'm think about it, and it's possible that you became immune to the Dilantin. I mean, you've been taking it for how many years, and your body's so used to it that it doesn't have an effect. That's why I have to change my pills."

"You change your pills every three months. If I was immune to my Dilantin, it would've been a while ago. I'm gonna go get some," Summer blew off the step-monster and left the house. She tried to keep the thoughts out of her head, but she couldn't. What if she was immune?

* * *

"Wow, the band is even louder than usual," Summer pointed out. She was at the Bait Shop with the rest of her friends. The band Snow Patrol was playing, at a decibel much louder than they were accustomed to.

"What!" Marissa screamed over at her friend.

"My point exactly," Summer gave up. She was fine for a while, but right now, she was feeling strange. And she couldn't explain why. She had gotten the pharmacist to give her pills. The crisis had been absolved.

"What?" Marissa asked again, and Summer walked away, rolling her eyes.

Ryan and Seth hung out by the bar, watching both girls. Ryan hadn't told Seth about what happened with Summer this morning. Seth was having his own problems.

Seth was still a little weirded out with his mom. It was so strange seeing her in rehab. Seth was trying to cover up the emotions he had. He was so angry at himself for not seeing any of this coming. He had been so enwrapped in his own life, that he paid no attention to anyone else. Seth hated being so selfish, but that was him. He tried to change himself, but it never worked.

Summer walked over to the bar. She saw Seth and Ryan, and got scared. What if Ryan told? She didn't want to face them.

"Hey Summer," Seth noticed her and she froze. She was caught. He didn't sound like he knew, but then again, he had only said two words.

"Hey Cohen. Ryan," she walked the rest of the way over as calmly as she could, but she felt awkward. She felt like it was coming on.

"Where's Coop?" Seth asked Summer, obviously preoccupied.

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't call me that anymore," Marissa appeared from behind Seth who jumped.

"And I thought we agreed you wouldn't be all cat-like and scare the crap out of me!" Seth exclaimed.

"Yeah, Coop, gotta admit. Little scary there," Summer hadn't even noticed her best friend at first.

"That was my point," Marissa joked, and Summer fake laughed. Ryan noticed it, but he was watching Summer carefully. His hero complex was showing.

Summer began to talk to get best friend, but she felt strange. She began to feel disconnected.

"Um, I gotta go home," Summer knew she would have an episode, before leaving, but she couldn't let her friends see it.

She turned to leave, but she couldn't even make it that far. All she remembered before passing out was grabbing onto someone's arm.

**You know the drill, review! And if you review enough, maybe I'll post earlier than Friday!**


	4. Hero Complex

**Thank you guys for the reviews! I know most of you will hate me, but the pairing is...can I say? I think you know. Haha. So, here is the update, please review, I hope you like!**

Ryan felt nails dig into his arm. He turned too late to see Summer's eyes roll back. She fell back almost instantaneously. The sound was sonorous, and fatal. Summer's head hit the bar.

He tried to catch her, which he sort of did, but she began to shake. Uncontrollably.

"She's in shock, we gotta get her to a hospital!" Marissa screamed. She felt like every second was an hour. Summer was hurt.

"No!" Ryan argued as he and Seth laid Summer down. Seth didn't say a word, he was the one in shock. He couldn't compute what was happening.

"What? Why are you laying her down?" Marissa was frantic as Summer shook.

"She's not in shock, she's having a seizure. The best place for her to be is the floor," Ryan remembered learning about this a long time ago. Someone in his school had a seizure. It was one of the scariest things he ever saw.

"Then how do we stop it?" Marissa seemed to be the only one who was scared.

"We can't. We just have to let it run its' course," Seth said, his eyes fixated on Summer's face. Did she know? Was that why she was going to leave? People don't just have random seizures. Something else had happened.

"What?" Marissa let the first tears fall as she looked to Ryan, who was applying pressure to Summer's bleeding head. A person from the bar gave him a rag, but it was so hard to keep it on the wound. She was shaking incredibly fast.

Ryan didn't look up at Marissa, who was now arguing with her conscience. How could she just watch her best friend have a seizure?

She barely heard someone say that they called 911. A crowd had gathered. Everyone was staring at Summer Roberts have an episode, and she couldn't do a thing about it.

Time was slowing down. Seth stared at his ex-girlfriend. He didn't know what to do. What could he do? There was nothing.

Summer's body finally relaxed, but the bleeding didn't.

"They're coming!" someone screamed and everyone looked up. Sirens could be heard down the road.

"She's losing too much blood, we'll have to meet them out there," Ryan deduced. "Seth, keep the towel on the back of her head. We'll meet the ambulance outside."

Ryan scooped up Summer as Seth helped. He kept the rag to her head. He could feel it absorbing her blood. He tried to keep as calm as he could, but that was kinda difficult when someone was dying in your arms.

Marissa led them out of the club. Her body was on autopilot. Inside her, she felt so confused. She couldn't comprehend what was happening. Her friend could be dying. Summer wouldn't die. She wasn't near it. Marissa turned back. The rag was covered in searing red pain. She held back emotions and went back to getting them out of the club.

The ambulance was just stopping when Marissa shoved open the door and Ryan and Seth eased Summer out.

"Is that her?" a paramedic, who jumped out, asked.

"Yeah, and she's lost a lot of blood. She just had a seizure," Ryan informed them.

"Okay," other paramedics appeared with a stretcher and took Summer out of Ryan's hands.

They got right to work, before any of them could say a word.

"Can we ride with her?" Marissa asked as they were shutting the door.

"Are you related?" the paramedic answered.

"No," Marissa whispered, looking down at the ground.

"Then I'm sorry. You have to be family," the paramedic replied, seeing the pain on Marissa's face.

"Does twelve years of friendship count?" Marissa felt so lost. Her whole world was falling apart. Ryan rarely talked to her, her parents didn't trust her, she shot her ex-boyfriend's brother, and now her best friend almost died. If she didn't have Summer, she probably wouldn't be here. Summer always stuck by Marissa no matter how hard life was.

"I'm sorry," the paramedic said one final time before shutting the door and getting in. The ambulance then sped off to the hospital, leaving three friends all alone.

Marissa fell apart. Her head rested into Ryan's chest. He didn't flinch, or hold her, which she didn't mind for once. His hands were covered in Summer's blood.

They finally had the opportunity to really comprehend everything. For a while, they couldn't feel the emotions they had.

Seth stared at the dampened, red rag. He grew sick just holding it. It fell to the ground when he turned to throw up in a bush.

Ryan looked down at Marissa's body, which was racking with sobs. Then his eyes drifted to his arm that had been punctured by Summer's nails. He stared at the wound, which had broken the skin. He could tell by it that she had known.

"Should we follow it? Make sure Summer's okay?" Ryan, by this point in his life, had turned off his emotions. It wasn't because he didn't care, it was because he had been hurt too many times in his life. He had seen more than one person should see.

Ryan lost count of how many traumatic events he had been in. Two shootings, two near suicides, three of his loved ones become alcoholics, two funerals, one for his own brother, a slew of physical abuse, and there was so much more.

He learned that when he allowed emotions, he got hurt ten times worse. So he taught himself to dissociate himself from the scene, and lose all emotion.

"Yeah," Marissa answered and slowly lifted her head off of Ryan's chest. She wiped the tears away and took deep breaths. "Let's go."

All three of them slowly made their way to the Range Rover. Marissa leaned on Ryan, who let it occur. Maybe this was just the thing that would bring them together. Or tear them apart even more.

**So, what did you think? I hope this satisfies you, and I'll update soon, but I don't know when. Please review!**


	5. Worry

**Here is a large update, just for you guys. Thank you so much for the reviews, and don't forget to review!**

"I'll drive," Seth announced after he looked at Ryan's hand. Ryan nodded and took the front passenger seat. Marissa sat in the back, for once it didn't bother her. Rarely she sat in the back, and never alone. Only before Kaitlin was born had she always sat alone in the back. Back then her life wasn't filled with woe. Sometimes, like now, she begged to go back to then.

No one said a word as they drove to the hospital. Everyone's minds were reeling. None of them knew what would happen next.

Ryan tried everything to not look at his hands. Mostly he stared at the scenery. Newport was a different place when you were driving to see if a friend was still alive. The only time he saw Newport this way was two months ago.

He never remembered Seth calling 911, but Seth had. The ambulance came and put Trey on the stretcher, with him barely alive. One of his lungs failed, and Ryan jumped in the ambulance with his brother. He himself had injuries, but none of them mattered. His brother was dying.

Their whole history was gone. All that mattered was that moment. Ryan remembered watching the paramedics try and save Trey. Ryan held his brother's hand. They had arrived at the hospital and Ryan stayed by his brother's side. He got as far as the surgery doors, where they operated and tried to help him. Trey had been awake the whole time. Who knew how, but he had been.

"See ya Little Brother."

Those had been Trey Atwood's final words.

He died four minutes later.

Ryan watched through the small glass square on the door. He watched it all, for the longest four minutes that ever existed.

He had never heard anything louder than Trey Atwood's flatline.

"Time of death: 9:42," an exasperated doctor sighed. He turned around and walked out of the operating room to see Ryan. "I'm sorry but..."

"I know," Ryan stared through the glass at his dead brother. Only once had he looked to the doctor that seemed sincerely sorry. His hands were still covered in Trey's warm blood. Ryan had been allowed to go in, and say goodbye to his only brother.

Seth braking the car brought Ryan out of his daze. Newport Memorial stared at him and he jumped out and headed in. A few nurses recognized him. Usually that was a good thing, but in hospitals, it was just depressing.

Ryan took lead and found where Summer was, but none of them couldn't see her. All that they could do was wait. They took their seats in the waiting room.

* * *

Two hours had gone by with no word from anyone. Tension was high, and they were losing patience.

"What's taking them so long?" Marissa begged, wanting to see her best friend.

"What if she's dead?" Seth wondered. In such a short time, his whole life was falling apart.

"What?" Marissa lifted her head off her knees, which were held close to her chest.

"What is she's already dead and they're just trying to figure out how to tell us?" Seth moved his gaze to across him, where Ryan and Marissa both sat.

"Don't think that," Marissa argued, growing fearful with Seth's thoughts.

"She lost _a ton_ of blood. And I never got to tell her everything," Seth kept going.

"Seth..." Marissa started.

"I mean, I've told her I love her, but I never really told her how much she means to me. And for all we know, it might be too late," Seth couldn't stop his rant.

"Seth, please. Stop it," Marissa was falling apart.

"What? I'm just speaking the truth," Seth felt that he was losing everything dear to him.

"Well, just stop it. You're freaking me out," Marissa yelled.

Just then, Neil Roberts appeared and rushed in, and took a quick look at the three teens before rushing off to find his daughter.

It was two thirty in the morning when he finally returned. Marissa had fallen asleep on Ryan and Seth had curled up in a ball in his chair. Ryan was the only one still awake, not even tired. Hours back they called their parents, and all of them were so scared. Sandy offered to come in, but Seth told him not to worry, even though there was a lot to worry about.

Ryan had never met Mr. Roberts before, and they shook hands before Ryan nudged Marissa awake.

"Oh, Dr. Roberts, how's Summer?" Marissa was barely awake, and her voice caused Seth to stir.

"Right now, she's postictal," Neil answered her.

"What?" Marissa had never heard that word before.

"That's the period of time after a seizure. She's sleeping right now," Neil couldn't even remember Summer having an episode as bad as this.

"What about her head?" Ryan then asked as Seth stumbled over.

"Well, she did lose _a lot_ of blood. And the doctors want to put her in a medical coma," Neil was careful not to say 'again.' Summer had been put in one once before.

"A coma? For how long?" Marissa grew worried for her friend. This wasn't normal.

"Just a few days. They want to monitor some things. Just procedure. Don't worry," Neil wanted them to leave. He vowed with his daughter that he would not tell her friends what she had.

"When can we see her?" Seth wondered.

"Not for a while. You should go home," Neil answered, growing tired. "I'll call Marissa's mother if anything changes."

"Thank you," Marissa said, and all three turned to leave. They exited the hospital silently.

"Man, we've been here too many times," Seth broke the ice after they got in the car. Ryan now drove, his hands washed away of Summer's blood hours earlier, yet the pain was still there.

It was nearing three when they dropped Marissa off at the Bait Shop to get her car.

"Do you think Summer'll be okay?" Seth asked his brother. The two had been distant lately, both dealing with the drama in each of their lives. Seth was adjusting slowly to his mother at rehab, and Ryan was coping with the death of Trey.

"She should be fine," Ryan answered. Seth looked over, and there was still a pressure scar on Ryan's neck. Ryan had changed that night, and he wasn't the same anymore. More introverted, quieter, a force inside him gone.

"Are you sure? Because I'm scared. I mean, they're _putting_ her in a coma. Why does she have to be monitored? What's wrong with her?" Seth asked. He wished he was still with her. Their relationship ended about a week after Trey's death when Seth supposedly "had no feelings for anyone else whatsoever." Seth disagreed with Summer's claim.

"Seth, the coma is just precautionary. They want to make sure she's okay," Ryan didn't admit it, but he was also worried about Summer. But not in the same way as Seth did. Ryan had seen Summer have an 'episode' earlier that day. Something big was definitely going on. And even though he hated doing it, he would have to confront her once she woke up.

* * *

Sandy Cohen heard the door open, and he woke up. He was waiting for his two sons in the kitchen.

Life had been falling apart ever since Caleb died. Sandy missed his wife so badly, but she only had two more weeks. He talked to her almost every day, and earlier, he had gone with Seth to visit her. He only was allowed to visit her every two weeks. She had been at rehab a month now.

"We're home!" Seth yelled and Sandy pulled himself up. He welcomed both his sons, glad to have someone to accompany him in this lonely house.

"How's Summer?" Sandy asked the two tired-looking boys. Ryan looked especially exhausted. Well, lately, Ryan always did. Ever since Trey died, Ryan seemed more awkward with the Cohens. The two families had met under depressing pretenses.

"Postictal," Seth repeated Neil's words.

"She had a seizure?" Sandy had worked on seizure cases before. Only two, but he knew enough.

"How did you know that?" Seth asked his father and grabbed something to drink.

"I did some cases with seizures. But anyways, how bad was it?" Sandy wondered.

"Well, the seizure was, I don't know. Is there like a seizure scale, because I'd give it an 8. But she cracked her head open on the way down," Seth answered, feeling his body just completely taking over. His emotions were too confusing.

"Any brain damage?" Ever since Kirsten left, Sandy tried to be more involved with their sons. Seth was easy to talk to. Without Summer, he needed someone to ramble to. Ryan, on the other hand, had pretty much shut himself out of everything.

"No, but they're putting her in a coma for a few days. They have to 'monitor' her," Seth replied as Ryan tried to sneak away. He didn't feel right about talk to the Cohens.

"Hey Ryan," Sandy stopped his blonde haired son. "You wanna talk?"

"No. I'm okay," Ryan gave Sandy the credit of at least asking.

"What's up with him?" Seth whispered to his dad.

"Ryan? He's just in a weird state now. You would be too if your brother died," Sandy answered, feeling bad for Ryan.

"Yeah, but Trey was, like, killing him. Of course Ryan went over there to kill Trey," Seth pointed out.

"Nah. Ryan'd never kill someone. He just wanted to hurt him like he'd been hurt. Trey, Trey would've gone through with it. If Marissa hadn't stopped him, Ryan'd be dead," Sandy hypothesized as Ryan lightly shut the door. He had heard it all.

That's why he hated talking. Who was actually listening?

He got ready to sleep. Taking off his shirt, you could see tiny little scars all over. The doctors said they'd eventually go away, but they were deep. Trey had jammed all the glass shards of that table into Ryan's back.

He hadn't felt any of the pain until about five minutes after Trey passed. The pain had come all at once, his neck throbbing, his back trickling little droplets of blood, his breath short.

The doctors gave him a room and stitched him up, and never once had he said a thing. All he could think about was Trey.

Ryan passed by a calendar. He never kept up with them, but he noticed this time. In less than two weeks, his birthday would approach. His first birthday with the Cohens. Ryan doubted they knew.

They had celebrated Seth's birthday each time, October 17th, and Marissa's, September 30th. He remembered Summer's birthday was August 13th, so all of their birthdays went in a row. He was first. July 6th.

Every year, he'd get one worth while present. Theresa would give him one lone cupcake. She'd have one of course, homemade. Every year for the last...ever.

Ryan laid down in bed, and tried to let his thoughts disappear. But they were his voice. Except no one heard it.

**Hope you liked, and please review!**


	6. Visits

**Sorry for the long update, but life has been hectic...I actually have a lot written in this, way farther than what I'm posting, but oh well. **

Neil sat next to his daughter as they injected the medicine. He couldn't believe this was happening again. The Roberts have had to deal with this for too long. Neil had seen his daughter at her worst, and this, compared to other times, was quite bad.

"Now, were there any episodes earlier?" the doctor asked Neil.

"I wouldn't know, I've been out all week," Neil answered, still staring at his daughter. You could see nothing wrong with her, except her pale face.

"Is there anyone who might know?" the doctor was friends with Neil, knowing him since before Summer had been born.

"My wife. Let me call her," Neil excused himself and walked out, producing his cell phone. He called Emilia, who probably was passed out.

"Hello?" Emilia finally answered at the fifth ring, right before the machine started.

"Hey," Neil greeted his wife.

"Hey baby. Where are you?" Emilia was only half awake.

"At the hospital," Neil walked around as he spoke.

"Why?" Emilia rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"Summer," Neil remembered when Summer rebelled against him and didn't take her medication. She nearly killed herself when she had a seizure in her closet. Her initial scream was that thing that saved her.

"What happened?" Emilia had a bad feeling when Summer left that morning.

"She had a seizure. Cracked her head on the way down," Neil replied.

"Is she okay?" Emilia wondered.

"She'll be fine. They put her in a coma, though. But I need to know if she had any other episodes," Neil said.

"She had one this morning. Just a small one, at her friend's house," Emilia told him.

"I have to go talk to the doctor, so I'll see you at home," Neil sighed.

"What does the doctor think happened?" Emilia and Summer had _never_ gotten along, except when they needed medication. It was strange, granted, but it worked.

"He thinks she might be immune, which makes the most sense. She did take her Dilantin, right?" Neil asked. He loved his two girls to death, but lately, he always had to leave them.

"She took it. That's what I told her, the immunity thing, but she didn't listen," Emilia complained as she strode into the kitchen.

"Well, it almost killed her," Neil stated.

"The seizure was that bad?" Emilia opened a bottle of Klonopin.

"I'm not sure. But when she fell, she cracked her head bad. She had to get stitches, and it's gonna be bad for a while. But, I warned her before, she never was tested, but she could be sensitive to those strobe lights in clubs. That also is a possible explanation," Neil continued to complain.

"Neil, she's seventeen. She can make mistakes. That's what those years are for," Emilia swallowed two more pills.

"Yeah, but not with this. She can get seriously hurt. But she already did," Neil was growing even more upset.

"Calm down. Talk to the doctors, see Summer, and come home. Nothing's going to change with her, you know that. Just come home and relax," Emilia drifted back to the couch.

"Okay," Neil finally conceded. "I'll see you soon."

* * *

Seth woke up early; something he never did without a radio. He purposely put it on a station he despised, just so he knew to wake.

All he could think about was Summer. He kept worrying about her. The scene last night had scared him. Would Summer be okay?

He got dressed and pushed himself to get downstairs. He had to see Summer. He had to know if she was all right. He'd kill himself if she wasn't. It had been his idea to go to the Bait Shop.

Ryan was already in the kitchen. He rarely slept now.

"Hey man," Seth greeted his brother, who nodded. "So, I was thinking we could go to the hospital..."

"Yeah. Marissa already called this morning," Ryan replied.

"Oh, cool. Is she coming over?" Seth was subconsciously trying to get Ryan and Marissa back together.

"We're meeting her there," Ryan took a sip of coffee and that was when Seth saw the wound.

"Wow, Summer really took a chunk out of ya," Seth joked and Ryan just stared.

"Sure."

Both sipped their coffee silently, an unusual activity for Seth. He didn't even pick up the Arts and Leisure section.

Sandy had been attempting to get ready for an hour now. He still wasn't used to mornings without Kirsten. His whole system was off. Sometimes he'd find himself waiting to get into an already empty bathroom.

He eventually finished and walked out of the silent room. He hadn't realized how much life Kirsten had put in the house.

"Morning boys," Sandy put on his facade, and walked into the kitchen and greeted the boys.

"Morning," Ryan and Seth both said unenthusiastically.

"What are you doing today?" Sandy had never known how much Kirsten livened up the house. It felt dark and drab now.

"Uh, we're going to see Summer," Seth explained to his dad.

"Well, I hope she gets better. I'm gonna go down to my office and start early," Sandy informed them.

"Oh. I think we gotta go because we're supposed to meet Marissa. See ya Dad," Seth laid his cup in the sink.

"Bye Sandy," Ryan followed Seth as they again left Sandy alone. He usually was alone. His first thought was to call Kirsten, but he went against it. He had to be strong.

Ryan drove, and both him and Seth were silent. Once again, they were headed to the hospital. It wasn't fair.

"Think she's okay?" Seth hadn't slept at all that night. Every time he shut his eyes, he saw Summer shaking.

"She'll be fine Seth," Ryan felt bad that he was keeping a huge secret from Seth. Summer would be Seth, so shouldn't he know?

"Yeah, sure. I wonder what set it off," Seth was still confused on his ex-girlfriend having a seizure. What had she done to get it?

"I don't know. I think they're caused by a chemical imbalance," Ryan wanted to know also, but he didn't want to snoop.

"Maybe the doctor'll know," Seth replied as they pulled into the hospital. Ryan searched for a spot as Seth called Marissa, who was waiting in the lobby.

Ryan didn't ever remember entering the hospital other than the emergency room. Kirsten had even been there. Maybe Luke hadn't.

Marissa had found herself in the hospital gift shop. She hated being at hospitals, but she loved the gift shop. It was fun to look at gifts that would take away some of the pain. Only once had she been there for a happy reason, but it hadn't been happy for her back then. It was when Kaitlin was born, and Marissa swore that's when her problems started. But then again, she always had problems.

Ryan and Seth walked in, and immediately searched for Marissa. She saw them through the glass, and quickly paid for the balloon she picked out.

"Hey guys," she came out and greeted them.

"Hey," both replied and an awkward silence hung over them. What could they say?

"I think we should, um, go.." Marissa began.

"Yeah," Seth quickly agreed and Marissa led the way to the elevator. She knew Summer was on the fourth floor, an angry receptionist had informed her.

Hospital elevators were always crowded, and today was no exception. As they went up a level Marissa was continually pushed more into Ryan, who wouldn't look at her. She couldn't understand why, but he blew it off.

After reaching the fourth level, they pushed their way out, and Marissa tried to lead the way, but she had no idea where she was. Luckily, she saw Neil and Emilia Roberts standing outside a room. Marissa headed that way, figuring that room belonged to Summer.

"Hi Dr. Roberts, how's Summer?" Marissa approached Summer's parents, who looked worn out.

"They're going to wake her up in two days," Neil informed them.

"Can we see her?" Marissa asked.

"Yes, but only one at a time. And you'll have to wait, her mother is in there," Neil replied sadly. He hated seeing his ex-wife.

About three minutes later, Summer's mother appeared, gave them all a look, and left.

"I'll go first," Marissa announced and walked in. The sound of the heart monitor quickly began to annoy her, and she braced herself.

When she first saw Summer, it just looked like she was sleeping. But at a closer look, Summer looked small and drained. Marissa felt bad for seeing Summer like this.

"Hey Sum," Marissa choked out. "It's Coop. Um, I can't wait until you wake up. We really hope you're gonna get better fast. I don't really know what happened, but you really scared us. You better not do that again. Um, we miss you, and come back soon."

Marissa had never felt more awkward in her life than now. She left without another word. She gave Ryan a look indicating it was his turn.

Ryan and Summer were never close, except for lately. She tried to cheer him up a lot, and it helped. Sometimes. He hadn't told anyone about her previous episode, though he thought someone should know. He supposed her parents knew, but there hadn't been much time to tell them.

He walked in, and didn't feel awkward. Ryan had been in hospitals too many times. Only four times had he been a patient, not including the last time a month ago. Most of the incidents were abuse gone overboard, and only one time it had been an accident.

It was pretty pathetic.

Summer just lie there, not a single movement. A tube had been injected in her arm, and a heart monitor held its place on her finger and in the corner.

"Hi Summer, it's Ryan," he began. He had no idea what to say to the girl. She looked so at peace, it reminded him of when he had spoken his last words to Trey. Both people looked so serene. "Uh, I hope you wake up soon, because what you did was scary. I know this is procedure, but it just seems to me something else is gong on. But it's probably nothing. Can't wait until you wake up. Bye Summer."

If only this had been the situation with Trey. If only Trey was just in a coma, and bound to wake up. If only.

Ryan sped out, feeling himself being sucked in by memories. He took a seat outside the door, next to Marissa.

"This is so scary," she began, glad to be talking to Ryan.

"Yeah," Ryan half-agreed.

"I mean, she never had any alcohol last night, and that's my only explanation for this," Marissa had only ever seen Summer have one episode, and it was so long ago, she couldn't remember it.

"Did she ever have any seizures before?" Ryan asked.

"Not that I can remember," Marissa blocked the memory out. She never wanted to remember it.

Seth took a deep breath and stepped into Summer's room. She looked so vulnerable.

"Hey Summer, it's Seth. I feel so bad about this. I wish I could talk to you, because I'm really sorry. I know you never want to get together again, but I'd like to try again. Third time's the charm, right? It's just, seeing you here makes me realize how stupid I've been. Well, I can't wait to talk to you again. See ya Sum," Seth said this quickly so he could get it all out. He didn't want to go _too_ deep.

So he walked out, and received a strange look from Neil Roberts. Seth sat on the opposite side of Marissa and stared into Summer's room. They all did, waiting for it to be over.

**Hope you enjoyed the update, and please, review!**


	7. Resistance

**A nice big update before I leave for two, three weeks and won't be back. I hope you enjoy this, the best part is coming.**

Neil and Emilia Roberts watched as the doctors woke up their daughter. Two days had passed and a diagnosis had been found.

Summer's eyes slowly opened. She wasn't surprised by where she was. She knew.

The doctors watched with precaution as Summer lifted herself up. She had been through this before.

"Good morning Summer," a doctor greeted Summer. She felt relatively confused, but not that much. She could guess what happened.

"Morning," it only felt to Summer that she had just taken a nap.

"How do you feel?" this had happened before, Summer had been ten, and she was in her kitchen. No one remembered why it happened, but Summer had been sitting on the counter when it occurred. She passed out, knocking her head on a cabinet, then falling. It had been a miracle she had no brain damage.

The fall had been near fatal; if Summer had tilted her head one inch more to the left, she could've died, or been in a coma. Of course, she had been placed in a coma so that her brain could heal, but for the longest 89 seconds in Neil Roberts' life, he thought his ten year old daughter would die.

"A little tired, but I always feel that way," Summer replied. She couldn't explain it, but even after a coma, she still felt tired.

"Do you know where you are?" the doctor began her questions.

"I'm guessing the hospital?" Summer hated how going to the hospital was so routine for her. Every nurse knew her. When she had first been diagnosed, she had to stay at the hospital for two weeks. She would sneak out of her room and visit all the nurses.

"You're correct," the doctor answered. "Do you know what happened?"

"I had a seizure," Summer answered flatly. For a while, she was a candy stripper at this hospital. She stopped about a year and a half ago, afraid that someone would catch on. She enjoyed the job, she got to help people, and if anything happened, a doctor was right there.

"Yes, you did. Now, you cracked your hear on the way down, and you received stitches. For precautionary reasons, we had to put you in the coma," the doctor explained.

"So what's the diagnosis?" Summer was afraid to hear it. She was so sick of this. Why did it have to happen to her? Was she too selfish? The only reason she was bitchy to people was so that no one would get too close. She was afraid of what they would think of her once they knew.

"Well, Summer, we've come to the conclusion that your body has become immune to the Dilantin, but chemically dependent to it," all the doctors had left already but one.

"So what does that mean for me?" Summer hated being wrong. Everyone had told her she would become immune, but she never listened. Of course she didn't. That was just the way she was.

"It means that we're going to have to wean you off of the Dilantin, but it has no effect," the doctor put it in regular terms.

"But if it has no effect, why do I have to be weaned off of it?" Summer said, not even noticing her father and step-monster standing in the corner.

"Your body needs it. An example per se: It's as if your body has this tight wrap on the Dilantin, and if you were to just take it away, it could set off a horrible chain of events, because there is this large hold that needs to be filled. But, if you slowly take away the Dilantin, the holes are much smaller to fill, and less noticeable," the doctor tried to make sense.

"Right," Summer understood the analogy, sadly.

"You understand?" the doctor asked.

"Yeah. For a week or something, it'll be like I'm not taking any medication at all," Summer replied.

"Actually, it will be a week and a half," the doctor corrected her.

"Even better," Summer said sarcastically. She was worried. There would be a week and a half time frame where she could have a seizure at any point in time. She didn't want any of her friends knowing. And how wouldn't they know?

Summer supposed she wouldn't be seeing her friends for a week and a half.

* * *

"Your friend Marissa called," Emilia announced at the dinner table. It had only been a day since Summer had woken up. Marissa had called Summer at least three times in the day.

"I know," Summer didn't want to talk to any of her friends on the phone.

"So did two boys named Ryan and Seth," Emilia was now in charge of all the phone calls.

"Both of them?" Summer would've never guessed Ryan would call.

"Ryan called once, Seth called four times," Emilia replied.

"You're not with that Seth boy, are you?" Neil asked. It was one of the rare nights all three were there.

"No Daddy, I'm not," Summer answered.

"What happened to Zach? He was nice," Neil lately felt out of his daughter's life.

"We broke up," Summer began to play with her food. She wasn't hungry, she usually never was after a seizure. It took her at least two days to get her appetite back.

"Oh, and who is this Ryan? You never mentioned him before," Neil thought he'd take the time now to get back into his daughter's life.

"He's a friend of mine," Summer wasn't in the best mood. For the next week and a half, she would, for the most part, lock herself in her house.

"Did he just move here?" Neil missed the old days with Summer. Ever since the lunch with Seth over a year ago, she had slowly shut Neil away.

"No. He's lived here for like two years," Summer knew she had talked about Ryan to her dad numerous times lately.

"Oh wait, is he the boy who Marissa shot his brother?" Neil did remember.

"Yeah," Summer hated thinking about back then. It was such a horrible time and none of them had really gotten through it.

The rest of the dinner was in silence, and Summer felt like her whole family was walking on pins and needles just so that Summer didn't have a seizure.

After dinner, Summer retreated to her room, where she usually did. She logged onto the computer, and began to look at people's online journals. She practically had a subscription to the everyone at her school. She had known them all once, but now, none of them mattered.

She clicked on Seth's site, and began to read all his depressing rants. She went all the way back to a month ago, where somehow, he had found a picture of her and Seth at the prom. They smiled for the picture, and who would've guessed that just minutes later, Seth would get a call saying his granddad was dead.

Summer wished that she could tell Seth, but something felt wrong. She felt he would never understand, take it as an offence to himself. She could see the argument now.

That's why she couldn't be with him.

All of a sudden, someone was IMing her:

Coop930: Hey  
SummerBitch813: hey  
Coop930: how do u feel?  
SummerBitch813: fine I guess  
Coop930: where were u today?  
SummerBitch813: w/ my dad. we hung out  
Coop930: oh  
SummerBitch813: yeah  
Coop930:do you wanna do something tomorrow?  
SummerBitch813: cant  
Coop930: why?  
SummerBitch813: stuff w/ my mom  
Coop930: how bout in two days?  
SummerBitch813: babysitting the stepmonster  
Coop930: that sux  
SummerBitch813: yeah  
Coop930: I g2g. My mom is yelling. again.  
SummerBitch813: see ya  
Coop930: call u tomorrow bye  
SummerBitch813: bye

Summer sighed. She hated lying to her best friend. But she couldn't risk something when Marissa was present. She wouldn't let it happen again.

And then someone signed on who she had never seen before. Marissa had put it in Summer's buddy list. Marissa had also invented the name.

Atwood706.

Summer laughed. When Ryan and Marissa were together, they were cute. Sometimes. Most of the time they were a train wreck. Just like Summer and Seth.

SummerBitch813: hey  
Atwood706: Who is this?  
SummerBitch813: its Summer  
Atwood706: Oh. Hi.  
SummerBitch813: so what r u doing?  
Atwood706: Researching.  
SummerBitch813: researching what?  
Atwood706: Nothing of importance.  
SummerBitch813: oh  
Atwood706: So how do you feel?  
SummerBitch813: fine. nothing to brag about.  
Atwood706: Oh.  
SummerBitch813: did u tell Coop or Cohen about...  
Atwood706: What?  
SummerBitch813: what happened the other day  
Atwood706: I didn't say anything.  
SummerBitch813: good  
Atwood706: Are you sure you're okay?  
SummerBitch813: never better, y?  
Atwood706: Never mind. Are you busy tomorrow?  
SummerBitch813: busy all this week  
Atwood706: Oh.  
SummerBitch813: I g2g. Bye Ryan.

And very quickly, Summer signed off. Now she really felt bad for lying. But she couldn't let anything happen.

Even though it was early, she decided to go to sleep. She was worried about the next week and a half. What could happen? She didn't want to know.

Summer grabbed Princess Sparkles and held the horse tight. She felt one coming. The covers went over her head just before she screamed in terror.

* * *

A few days had passed, now exactly a week since Summer's seizure. It was a dark day, storm clouds plagued the sky.

Ryan rushed into the main part of the Cohens' house just in case a storm would start. It was late, later than Ryan usually let it be. He had been stuck in his own head for too long. Both Seth and Sandy were in the kitchen, with usual morning banter.

"Morning Ryan," Sandy greeted his second son.

"Morning," Ryan grabbed a cup and poured some coffee into it.

"Hey Ryan, have you heard from Summer at all?" Seth had been calling her every three hours. He refused to go to her house because of Neil. And plus, if Summer didn't want to talk to Seth on the phone, why would she want to see him?

"No," Ryan hadn't talked to her since online, but he had a plan.

"Oh," Seth looked over at his brother and felt like he didn't know Ryan at all. Ever since Kirsten went into rehab, Ryan was perhaps the only one who hadn't talked to her yet. Kirsten had begun to gain a complex, but Sandy and Seth assured her that he was just busy.

Kirsten hadn't made it to Trey's funeral, but his real mom had. Ryan sat with both parents on the opposite side of everyone now dear to him. He had to plan it all. He had to speak about the brother who constantly put him down in a good light. No seventeen year old should have to do that.

"Why don't us three hang out?" Sandy proposed.

"Can't. Have to do stuff," Ryan said quickly.

"Like?" Seth was intrigued.

"Have to see someone," Ryan answered. It was strange to be in the Cohens' house during the summer. It had been almost two years since he first came.

"Who?" Seth hoped that maybe Ryan would open up.

"No one in particular. I gotta go. Can I borrow the car please?" Ryan tried to escape.

"Sure," Sandy felt like he was losing Ryan more and more.

Ryan left without another word, and he knew he no longer was a part of the Cohen family. He was just a guest, a visitor, who had out welcomed his stay. Too many things had built up between Ryan and Newport. He might as well just leave then.

But he didn't. He headed to Summer Roberts' house.

**I have a lot written for this, and maybe you'll like the pairing, maybe you'll hate it. But I'll say this: DSmooth321, I completely agree with you...lol. Please review, since I won't be back for a while!**


	8. The Answer

1**Sorry this took forever, my life has been hectic. Please read, I didn't mean to take so long, but school is coming up, and I've had to do like everything...enjoy!**

It was raining hard when he arrived at her house. Summer watched the rain fall from next to her bed. She didn't leave her room a whole lot now, she still had a half week until she could start a new medication.

She was having practically an episode a day, and it was getting annoying. It had been this bad for years.

Summer heard the door ring, but she didn't even make an effort to answer it. The step-monster would, so no harm done.

"Hi. Can I help you?" Emilia opened the door, half sedated from the Klonopin.

"Is Summer here?" Ryan had only been at the Roberts' residence once, and now, both times he had to deal with the step-monster.

"She's upstairs, who are you?" Emilia thought she knew Ryan, but she didn't think so.

"I'm Ryan. Um, is it okay if I go see Summer?" Ryan felt uncomfortable around Emilia.

"Sure. Last door up the stairs," Emilia retreated to the kitchen as Ryan stepped up the large staircase. He had been there once, but it felt strange.

Summer was sitting on the floor dismally. Leaving on the night stand, she knew the floor was the only place a tiny bit safe.

Ryan approached her door and sighed before knocking.

"Go away," Summer croaked. "I'm busy."

"Summer?" Ryan started, taking Summer off guard. She pulled herself up, and went to the door. She only opened it a tiny bit at first to see if it was Ryan. Then she opened it fully.

"What are you doing here?" Summer asked, mad that she forgot to remind Emilia about no visitors.

"I came by to see if you were okay," Ryan was amazed how in such a short time Summer had changed so much.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Summer was worried Ryan knew.

"Well, you've been ignoring everyone's calls for five days," Ryan commented, keeping his cool. He didn't want anyone to know he was over here.

"I'm fine," Summer repeated.

"What happened to your..." Ryan started, and Summer put a hand to her face. Her lip was cut, and her whole side of her face was black and blue.

"Nothing," Summer replied quickly and looked up at Ryan. His face was stern, unyielding.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's really going on," Ryan didn't want to push Summer, but he was concerned about her.

"I guess you should come in," Summer finally gave in and allowed Ryan to enter her room. She closed the door slowly, as Ryan looked around.

Nothing had really changed since the other time he was in Summer's room. Summer knew now she would have to tell him.

"Ryan...I have epilepsy."

Ryan stared at Summer as she looked to everything else in the room. It explained a lot.

"You can't tell anyone," she said as she took a glance up at him, automatically shy. She was afraid of what he thought.

"I wouldn't," he understood. "But is it okay if I ask you how long you've had it?"

"Yeah, it's okay to ask," she stifled a laugh. "I've had it since I was about five. I can't remember a time when I didn't have it."

"Oh," he tried not to sound awkward, but he didn't really know what to say.

"You know, it's actually really nice to finally tell someone. No one knows, except you and my family," Summer felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had finally told someone, and they hadn't acted nearly the way she thought they would.

"You never even told Marissa?" Ryan was shocked and flattered.

"No. It luckily never came up. And now, I can't see ever telling her, because she'd use it against me. Same with Seth," Summer answered.

"Yeah, I can see that," Ryan agreed.

"It's like, now with it back, it seems like no one knows me anymore. I don't even know myself," Summer for once, felt all right telling someone what she was going through.

"And you're afraid that if you try to explain it to someone, they still won't understand?" Ryan added and Summer turned to look at him.

"Exactly."

She hadn't realized she had begun pacing, but as soon as she noticed, she stopped. Ryan just stood there and watched her.

"I just wish it would go away," Summer sat back down next to her bed. "I mean, my life was finally going okay, and it had to come back and ruin it."

Ryan knew he didn't need to add anything, he just let Summer talk.

"I mean, when I was a little girl, I used to be afraid to go out and play because I might get a seizure. When other kids would get just milk and cookies, I would get milk, cookies, and three different medications," Summer told Ryan.

There were so many things about the epilepsy that had scarred Summer.

"When I first got diagnosed with it, I still had a month left in kindergarten. I had to wear a _helmet_ for that last month. I'm amazed no one remembers, I certainly do," Summer felt so free saying all these things.

"I've had to deal with it for so long," she continued, "and it still won't let up. I thought I was rid of it, but nope. It came back. I just wish it would stop ruining my life. I mean, it's already tried to kill me more than once."

"You know, oddly enough," Ryan walked over, and eased himself next to Summer, "This reminds me of my brother."

"How so?" Summer looked over.

"Well, he always found a way to ruin my life. And then he finally left. He was there, but he wasn't hurting me. But he came back, and tried to kill me," Ryan answered.

"Hmm, they are similar," Summer commented.

"Yeah. When I was younger, if my brother screwed up, he would purposely find something worse to blame on me so I would be the one who'd get hit," Ryan couldn't explain it, but for once, he was opening up. And it was nice.

"Wow. You know, do you ever like, miss Trey?" Summer asked. Over the first week after Trey died, she and Seth were in charge of watching Ryan and making sure he didn't lose it. He never did.

"All the time. As much of a horrible brother Trey was, he was still my brother. If he wasn't around, I wouldn't be here. I'd be with my mom," Ryan commented.

"What, on the Bender Tour of America?" Summer joked.

"Yeah. I suppose I can thank Trey," Ryan added.

"Yep, I guess you can. You know, I can kinda relate," Summer didn't look over. She hadn't thought about this in so long.

"Really? How so?" Ryan wondered.

"I mean, it's only a little, but you know. When I was six, I had a little brother. He was only a year old, so I never really got to know him, but all I remember is walking into his room, and he was dead," Summer had never told anyone that.

"What happened?" Ryan felt bad.

"Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. He just stopped breathing. That was partly the reason my parent divorced. The epilepsy was also a big thing. Plus, my parents hated each other," Summer explained.

"Same with mine. They were always at each other's throat," Ryan didn't know why he was opening up, but he supposed it was because someone was actually listening.

"Are your parents divorced?" Summer knew very little about Ryan and his past.

"Yeah," Ryan rarely talked about his parents. It stirred up too many painful memories.

"Where's your dad? Did he like abandon you guys?" Summer understood that Ryan wasn't much of a talker, but it was nice to hear his voice.

"No. Well, I guess he did. He went to jail when I was nine. Armed robbery. Fifteen years. My mom divorced him a few days into his sentence," Ryan had never told anyone in Newport about his dad. The Cohens knew, just because Sandy told them.

"Wow. That's so sad. I mean, you never really had a dad," Summer only really had a dad. Her mom never came around.

"Sort of. I had tons of father figures, but the only things they were good at were drinking and hitting," Ryan was taking a deep trip down Memory Lane.

"Were you hit a lot?" Summer knew Ryan wouldn't voluntarily say anything. He had to be provoked.

"What's 'a lot'?" Ryan asked.

"I guess, almost every day," Summer looked over at Ryan's stern face.

"Then yeah, a lot," Ryan thought back to all the times he fought with Dawn's boyfriends. Trey was never there to help him.

"What about your mom? Didn't she ever try to stop them?" Summer and Ryan had never really had a conversation. If they did, it was about Marissa or Seth.

"She was too drunk to do anything," Ryan, now looking back on his life, realized that it was actually worse then he had thought. Usually it was the opposite.

"Is that why you don't visit Kirsten?" Summer thought back to the day in the pool house.

"Yeah. When I see her, I think of my mom passed out on the couch with an empty bottle of vodka on the floor," Ryan answered.'

"Wow. I mean, I feel so bad," Summer rested her head on Ryan's shoulder. "Here I am, complaining about epilepsy and my childhood, and all the while, you were getting hit and everything," Summer felt so horrible. She couldn't even fathom how Ryan made it through his childhood.

"Everyone has a different childhood. You can't compare them. The all kind of suck somehow," Ryan replied.

They sat there in silence, reflecting on all the things they said and heard. No one else knew them.

"You know, Ryan, I was wondering," Summer said after about five minutes.

"What?" Ryan answered.

"In your screen name, what does the 706 stand for?" Summer asked.

"That's my birthday. July 6th," Ryan replied.

"That's in like a week," Summer pointed out.

"Yeah, it is," Ryan remembered the day Marissa made that name.

"Happy early Birthday, Ryan."

**I hope you liked this update, please review, I absolutely love reading them...lol.**


	9. The Morning After

**Sorry for the long wait...I am still updating this! Please read and review!**

Summer squeezed her eyes shut before she opened them. She had forgotten where she was. Her head was rested on someone's shoulder, but she couldn't remember whose. But she kept her head down.

Then she remembered. Ryan had come over, and she told him. Everything. And he told her everything. And he was still here.

"What time is it?" Summer asked, not even knowing if Ryan was awake.

"Seven o'clock," Ryan answered, he had been awake for about a half an hour.

"At night?" Summer lifted her head, amazed how time had flown by.

"In the morning," Ryan corrected her.

"Oh my gosh. Thank goodness my dad is out of town for a few days. He'd kill me if he knew you were here," Summer commented and looked over at Ryan.

"Yeah, I don't know how I'm going to explain this to Sandy," Ryan replied.

"Don't forget Seth...I haven't slept this nice for like a week," Summer said as they both got up.

"I haven't really slept at all for about a month," Ryan commented.

"Okay. Beat me there," Summer joked. "I guess you should go."

"Yeah. Well, I guess I'll see you around," Ryan began his goodbye, then Summer pulled him into a large hug.

"Thank you."

He returned the gesture for a moment and then they let go.

"Bye Summer," Ryan said and he opened the door and left. Softly, he exited her house and got to the Range Rover. There he turned on his cell phone and found five new voice messages, either from Seth or Sandy.

It was still raining and Summer watched from her window as Ryan pulled out of her driveway and rode away.

Ryan hoped Sandy and Seth were both still sleeping. Why would they wake up this early on Saturday? Only Ryan did that.

The roads of Newport Beach were damp and deserted. Ryan drove silently and precautiously. The Cohens' house wasn't that far away.

The sun was just coming up as Ryan pulled into the garage. He didn't walk through the house, just in case they were awake. Instead, he walked slowly through the rain to the pool house.

Ryan opened the door and immediately collapsed on the bed. Before taking another breath, he waited for Seth to pop out. He didn't. Ryan exhaled.

He didn't close his eyes, or really do anything. Sandy and Seth would wake up around ten. That left three hours.

Ryan looked back on what had happened with Summer. What _had_ happened? All he knew was that he opened up to her in a way he never did. He didn't think he had said that many words in one sitting ever.

Summer laid on her bed, thinking nearly the same thing. She held Princess Sparkles, afraid of the next moment. She hated being alone. What if she had another seizure? When she was around Ryan, she felt...safe. And she hadn't felt safe in a long time.

She figured the step-monster was passed out, so she went to her stereo and hit play.

_I am safe when I am by your side_

_And I feel warm if you want me to_

_I am cured when I'm by your side_

_I'm all right..._

_Careful where you stand, my love_

_Careful where you lay your head_

_It's true, we're always looking out for one another...

* * *

_

Seth was reading the newspaper when Ryan walked in. He had planned to come when Seth wasn't exactly paying attention.

"Hey," Ryan went to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup.

"Hey man," Seth said absentmindedly. "Hey, where were you all yesterday? You left, and never came back. So when did you come back? I waited up til like midnight," Seth finally paid attention.

"Uh, yeah, I was just driving around and I lost track of time," Ryan didn't look over at Seth. He knew he was a bad liar, and he couldn't let Seth see it.

"So who were you going to see?" Seth asked, not noticing Ryan's lie.

"What?" Ryan had forgotten he said that.

"You said you had to see someone. Who was it?" Seth felt as though he didn't have a brother anymore. Ryan grew farther away as the days went by.

"No one. I didn't even see them. No big deal," Ryan answered.

"Oh. Okay. Hey, do you want to do something? Like, see a movie, or maybe the Imax?" Seth proposed.

"Yeah, sure," Ryan replied.

"Well Seth, you're gonna have to postpone that til later. Me and Ryan need to talk," Sandy walked in and Ryan froze. He was screwed.

"Sure, cool. I'll leave," Seth made his exit.

"Sit down," Sandy ordered and Ryan set his coffee down, and sat down. "Now, let's talk. I don't know what's going through your head, but you can't just take the car and disappear for a day."

"I'm sorry," Ryan looked down. He remembered such a long time ago, he had to sit here and be reprimanded by Kirsten and Sandy. It was when he snuck into the permanent records. That wasn't the greatest time in his life, but sadly, one of the better ones.

"You should be. Now, you have been distancing yourself from everyone since Trey died.. You refuse to talk to Kirsten, you sure as hell don't talk to me. What is going on Ryan? You gotta talk to us kid," Sandy told his second son. Ryan didn't raise his head. "I'm waiting for an answer."

"I don't know."

"That's not a good enough one. Ryan, we're all concerned about you," Sandy shot back.

"I'm sorry," Ryan said, and Sandy threw his hands up. On instinct, Ryan pulled his arm away.

Sandy didn't say anything, he just stared. He wasn't dealing with Seth, who says everything on his mind. He was dealing with Ryan, who had a childhood far worse than his own.

"Why don't you call Kirsten? She'd love to hear from you," Sandy tried a different approach.

"I can't," all Ryan could see was himself at ten years old, being hit by one of Dawn's first boyfriends with her, drunk on the couch.

"Why?" Sandy had never really discussed Kirsten's drinking problem with Ryan, which was an error on his part. He should've said something to Ryan, who really needed it. He had dealt with it before, and it coming again must've been a bad blow on his emotions.

But he hadn't talked to Ryan. And he let Trey's death build on it, and he now, he was losing Ryan.

"I just can't," Ryan was falling more into his own memories. He could feel himself getting hit.

"You worthless piece of crap!"

Ryan bolted, he could take it anymore.

"_I'm sorry."_

"_Not an ounce more."_

"_I'm done with it."_

"_Not again."_

"_I'm stopping after this one."_

"_I won't fail you."_

"_I love you."_

"_We'll be okay."_

"_Don't worry."_

"_**Forgive me."**_

"_**I'm sorry."**_

"_**I love you."**_

He was sick of the lies and empty promises.

**I hope you enjoyed. The lyrics used were "Careful Where You Stand" by Coldplay(gotta love them.) The ending was a bit of a flashback if you were confused. Please read and review!**


	10. All About To Change

**So, wow, haven't updated this in a while. Sorry about the long wait. I hope this is right, I just found it and thought I'd update. A Cold Wind is also updated, so go check that out if you read it.**

Before he had noticed, Ryan was walking down the boardwalk. He couldn't remember walking there, but then again, his thoughts were so messed up to notice anything at all.

It was sad now; whenever Ryan thought of Kirsten, he thought of his own mother. He thought she was different. She was supposed to be the mother he never had. Not a repeat of the first one.

He didn't think anyone followed him, since they probably could've caught him by now. He didn't mind. When he was a little kid, no one followed him then.

It was strange that Summer happened to be the only person he opened up to. Not even Marissa knew all the stuff he said.

Newport was supposed to be his escape, but he guessed he would never have one.

* * *

Summer took deep breaths. Emilia stared at her, awestruck. She had a red hand print on her cheek. Summer looked at her arm to see blood trickling down it.

It was getting dark, and Neil still wasn't home. Emilia was in charge of watching over Summer.

"I'm sorry," Summer pierced her lips together, and looked down.

"No, it's okay. You were having an episode. It'll be alright," Emilia blew it off. She had been with Neil for a long time, she understood Summer's problem.

"Did I hit you hard?" Summer asked as Emilia helped her up. She didn't even bother wiping the tears off her face.

"Not really. A minor flesh wound. How's your arm?" Emilia, becoming a dutiful mother, led the way to the bathroom.

"It's fine," Summer replied. Emilia had accidently stabbed her while trying to calm Summer down.

"Here," Emilia pulled out the first aid kit and handed it to Summer. She wasn't a good dutiful mother.

"Thanks," Summer said as she brushed the blood off her arm.

"Oh yeah. I completely forgot. Your mother called again," Emilia mentioned.

"When did you talk to her?" Summer looked over as she opened a band-aid.

"She came to see you when you were in the coma," Emilia answered.

"That was over a week ago," Summer pointed out as she opened the triple antibiotic ointment.

"New meds, make me forget things," Emilia defended.

"Right," Summer put the band-aid with ointment on her arm hard and winced. She then got up and headed downstairs while Emilia followed.

"What I want to know is when that boy actually left," Emilia commented.

"What boy?" Summer poured herself a drink and Emilia took her medication.

"The boy that came over yesterday. He still didn't leave when I fell asleep," Emilia explained.

"Emilia, you can't tell the difference between a pole and a person once you've had you medication. You probably didn't see him," Summer and Emilia were back to hating each other.

"Well, what time did he leave?" Emilia wondered.

"I don't know. We weren't paying attention," Summer argued.

"What were you doing?" Emilia interrogated, one of the only things she was good at.

"Talking," Summer answered.

"Uh-huh, suuure," Emilia didn't believe her step-daughter.

"What? We were," Summer said.

"About?" Emilia wanted to know.

"Stuff," Summer replied, clearly sick of the step-monster.

"Like?" Emilia wasn't giving up, so Summer gave in.

"My epilepsy, okay? I told him! I told Ryan I have epilepsy. Are you happy?" Summer yelled.

"He must mean a lot to you," Emilia commented after a moment's pause.

"What?" Summer said.

"You never told anyone about your epilepsy. This Ryan must mean an awful lot to you if you told him. He must be something special," Emilia explained and then walked away, leaving Summer awestruck.

* * *

Seth saw his brother staring out at the ocean just as the sun was beginning to set. They'd been looking for him all day, and here he had been.

"Hey man," Seth walked over to his brother, who barely acknowledged the presence. "Whatcha up to?"

"Just thinking," Ryan didn't look over at Seth.

"Oh, cool. So, you thought about coming back?" Seth leaned on the railing, and also looked out into the ocean.

"Not really," Ryan answered. All he really thought about was his mother.

"Oh. Well, do you wanna come back? My dad's pretty freaked. He was talking to Marissa's dad to blow off the steam. I heard the word 'shrink' mentioned more than once. Of course, that could be for Marissa, so I don't know," Seth explained.

"I guess I could go back," Ryan didn't feel like he belonged there. He felt like he belonged nowhere.

"All right, cool. Let's go," Seth sensed Ryan wasn't fully 'there,' but he didn't say a word. "Hey, maybe after you talk to my dad, we can hit the Imax."

"Sure," Ryan thought back to yesterday, the day he spent with Summer. She had made everything easier to deal with.

He missed that.

Seth played with the radio as he drove, and Ryan didn't say a word. He never did.

Seth pulled into the driveway, and slowly got out. Ryan dreaded going in, for once, he sort of fear Sandy. He knew he was in trouble.

"I found him," Seth said as they walked in. Ryan saw Sandy's face and felt bad. It was wracked with worry, and Ryan knew it was because of him.

"Good. Seth, go up to your room. Ryan, sit down," Sandy replied, and silently, Ryan and Seth went to they designated areas. Ryan looked at the counter, as Sandy tried to find the right words to say.

Sandy knew he had lost all contact with Ryan. There was this huge distance between the two. He felt like he hardly knew Ryan at all. All summer the tension between them had been building, and it had finally overflowed.

"So what are we going to do? Me keep talking and you just getting farther away from us? Because if that's the case, I'm not even gonna bother talking," Sandy started.

Ryan refused to say a word, and didn't look up at Sandy.

"I know you're going through a rough time, but please, talk to us," Sandy remembered when he first met Ryan. He barely had changed at all, yet so much.

"There's not really anything to talk about," Ryan replied.

"Yes, there is. I don't know what to do Ryan. Do you want to talk to a therapist? Because we can't get anything out of you," Sandy complained.

"Don't. This is just the way I deal with things. Suck it in and don't say a word about it," Ryan looked up, but not at Sandy.

"I know. I used to be the same way. And if you say you're alright, I believe you. But just do one thing for me," Sandy knew what it was like for Ryan. He used to be him.

"What?" Ryan could already guess what Sandy wanted.

"Please talk to Kirsten. It's just she's constantly talking about how much she missed you. I knew you're wary because of your mom, but it would light up her day if you called," Sandy explained.

"I'll call her tomorrow," Ryan gave in.

"Thank you," Sandy said and Ryan made his exit. He walked into the dark pool house. Sitting down, his head rested in his hands and he wondered how everything came to this.

* * *

Sunday morning came and Summer prepared to talk to her mother. She hadn't fully talked to Karen in over three years. If her mother did call, Summer talked for a minute before handing the phone over to her dad.

Karen Post, as she was referred to, hadn't been the best mother. She was good to the three kids she had now, but Summer and her never had time to bond. One night she just walked out. And two weeks later the divorce papers came.

Summer remembered the custody battle very vividly. She was over at one of their houses each other week. When school started, she was at her mom's for the first half. Her mother had done well. She had transferred her job and was already living with someone. Years later, Summer found out that her mother was having an affair with the man for six months.

Both Summer's parents showered her with gifts, her father being the one who bought her Princess Sparkles. Over the summer before she was eight, her parents fought all the time. It was hell to go through that, and the epilepsy, and Summer didn't know how she did make it through.

Once Neil gained full custody of Summer, she rarely saw Karen. The plan had been one weekend a month Summer would stay with her mother, but it never worked. Karen was always too busy. As soon as the divorce was finalized, she remarried.

The people who still remembered Summer's mother, constantly reminded Summer how much she looked like her. An exact replica. Nothing like her father.

Summer was like her mother in most ways. Outspoken, popular, witty. The only difference was that Summer was much more down to earth than Karen. The epilepsy made Summer different. If she didn't have it, she could guess her future was her mother's.

Summer was the flower girl for both her parents' weddings, since they both occurred very close together. Summer saw her mother less than three times a year then and by now, it was never. So for her mother to come down and visit was a major thing.

She finally dialed the numbers, they weren't very familiar with her. It continued to ring, until at the fourth, someone picked up.

"Hello?"

It was the voice of a young girl, around seven years old.

"Hi, is Karen Post there?" Summer barely remembered her mother had a different last name.

"Yeah, she is, who is this?" the little girl replied.

"Summer Roberts," Summer answered.

"Oh, okay, lemme get her," she could hear the little girl put down the phone and scramble for her mother.

"Hello?" Karen picked up fairly quickly.

"Hi Mom," Summer hadn't said those words in so long.

"Summer, hi. Haven't heard from you in a while," Karen sat down.

"Yeah, Emilia just gave me the message," Summer also sat down, figuring this would be painful.

"Oh, okay. So how are you? When did you wake up? How's the epilepsy?" Karen spit questions out like rapid fire.

"Well, I woke up last Monday, and right now, I'm being weaned off the Dilantin," Summer answered.

"Why are you being weaned off?" Karen asked.

"Because I'm dependent to it, and it has no effect," Summer explained.

"That makes no sense," Karen commented, feeling good about the conversation. It seemed as if the last three years never occurred.

"Yeah, well," Summer added.

"When do you start a new medication?" Karen was watching over her three kids. The oldest one had the most of her genes, and looked like Summer and Karen.

"Um, this Thursday," Summer answered absent-mindly.

"Oh, really, because I thought maybe you could drive up here and stay over for a night," Karen missed her daughter.

"Dad's not letting me drive alone for a while," Summer pointed out.

"Then bring someone else along. I just want to see you," Karen whined.

"I don't know," Summer hadn't seen her mother in years.

"Friday. Come Friday," Karen exclaimed.

"Maybe. I'll call you," Summer replied.

"Okay. Well, I have to go, so take care. I love you, feel better," Karen said her goodbyes.

"Bye Mom," and Summer hung up.

**Again, sorry about the wait, and I hope you liked that. Please read and review, I love to know what you think.**


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